Rwandan Green Party moves forward, Rwandan dictatorship recedes

Frank Habineza at the Dakar Conference of the Global Greens

Below is a cleaned up version of an emailed press release on the Global Greens list. It indicates that the Green Party is able to register in Rwanda, which indicates in turn that President Kagame of Rwanda may be in the process of turning back from his course which was sailing towards dictatorship. If so, this is a real triumph for all those who campaigned and wrote to condemn Kagame's dictatorial tendencies, and in particular it may be a triumph for quiet diplomacy of the Commonwealth. Let's all hope so.

Tuesday, 14th August 2012

Media Release:

Rwandan Democratic Green Party is Resuming Political Activities Inside the Country.

On the occasion of the third anniversaryof the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, we take the opportunity to inform all party members, well-wishers and the general public that we have re-committed ourselves to resume political activities inside the country.

The party leader, Frank Habineza, who has been away in Sweden, since August 2010 will be back
early September to spearhead the process of registering the party and preparing for the September 2013 parliamentary elections.

During 2011, we were able to launch the Friends of Rwandan Greens, in Australia and participated in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Perth, Australia. CHOGM proved to be of great importance.

In May 2012, we were also able to participate in the Commonwealth Workshop for Government and Opposition in East Africa, which was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The workshop discussed the importance of the Opposition Parties complying with all relevant laws and playing a constructive role in the National debate. It also highlighted the Governments duty to recognize that in a multi-party democracy sometimes it is right for the Opposition to say how a particular law or policy can be improved or modified. We have no doubt that The Commonwealth is a serious partner in this noble cause of having a vibrant democracy in our country.

In June 2012, the Government of Burkina Faso, officially registered the African Greens Federation (a coalition of over 30 Political Parties and movements on the African continent), which DGPRs President, Frank Habineza, chairs. The Secretariat of this federation was launched in July 2012 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

In March 2012, the African Greens Federation was also able to host the 3rd Global Greens Congress in Dakar, Senegal. The gathering brought together parties from over 70 countries.

BRIEF BACKGROUND

The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda was launched on 14 August 2009 as an opposition and alternative party to the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front-RPF.

However, it became impossible for the party to register before the August 2010 presidential elections. Link

Then, on the 14 July 2010, its First Vice President, Andre Kagwa RWISEREKA was found decapitated.

(After this murder, which was suspected to be political, Frank Habineza went into exile in Sweden, where he continued to fight for Rwandan democracy, with the success that we find here. This gives to the lie to the nihilists who say political pressure is pointless).